Clinical value of combined detection of placenta associated 8 and platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase for early identification of sepsis and non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the clinical value of combined detection of placenta associated 8 (PLAC8) and platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase (PLA2G7) for early identification of sepsis and non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 189 febrile patients suspected infection who were admitted to Huashan Hospital, Fudan University from October 2022 to April 2023 were included. Based on etiological, laboratory test results and clinical data, patients were classified as infection or non-infection, and further classified as sepsis or non-infectious SIRS according to diagnostic criteria. Real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the mRNA levels of PLAC8 and PLA2G7 in peripheral venous blood of patients. Hematology, inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and procalcitonin, sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and the difference of cycle threshold (Ct) values between PLA2G7 and PLAC8 ((PLA2G7-PLAC8)ΔCt value))were compared between the sepsis and non-infectious SIRS groups. Statistical comparison was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test, and the diagnostic performance of (PLA2G7-PLAC8)ΔCt value in discriminating sepsis from non-infectious SIRS was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve. Results:Among the 189 febrile patients suspected infection, there were 80 non-infectious patients, including 51 non-infectious SIRS patients, and 109 infection patients, including 53 sepsis patients. The neutrophil ratio, CRP, IL-6, procalcitonin, and SOFA score of non-infectious SIRS patients were lower than those of the sepsis group, and the differences were all statistically significant ( Z=-2.70, -3.11, -2.16, -3.76 and -2.33, respectively, all P<0.05). The (PLA2G7-PLAC8)ΔCt value in the non-infectious SIRS group was 4.38(1.41), which was lower than 8.18 (6.19) in the sepsis group, with a statistically significant difference ( U=193.50, P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for (PLA2G7-PLAC8)ΔCt value in the differential diagnosis of sepsis and non-infectious SIRS was 0.859, with the optimal cut-off value of 5.86. The sensitivity and specificity were 82.2% and 71.9%, respectively. When combined with procalcitonin, the AUROC was 0.917, with a sensitivity of 95.6% and specificity of 70.6%. Conclusions:The (PLA2G7-PLAC8)ΔCt value in peripheral blood has good clinical value for early identification of sepsis and non-infectious SIRS, especially when combined with procalcitonin, which could further improve the accuracy of differential diagnosis.